Furnace damper control system and method

Abstract

A furnace damper control system and method thereof including a furnace having at least one opening through which electromagnetic radiation from within the furnace may be sensed, an exhaust duct capable of receiving an exhaust gas stream emerging from the furnace, and a controllable damper capable of adjusting the pressure in the exhaust duct. A sensor is capable of sensing electromagnetic radiation through one or more of the openings of the furnace and generating a sensor signal corresponding to the electromagnetic radiation, and a processor is capable of processing the sensor signal and generating a monitoring signal responsive to a parameter of the electromagnetic radiation indicative of furnace emissions. A controller is capable of controlling the damper responsive to the monitoring signal indicative of the furnace emissions.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of controlling a furnace damper, the method comprising:
 a) sensing electromagnetic radiation emitted through one or more openings of a furnace and generating a sensor signal corresponding to the emitted electromagnetic radiation; 
 b) processing the sensor signal and generating a monitoring signal responsive to a parameter of the electromagnetic radiation indicative of furnace emissions; and 
 c) controlling the damper responsive to the monitoring signal indicative of the furnace emissions. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 1 , where the electromagnetic radiation is at least a part of the visible spectrum. 
     
     
       3. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 1 , where the step of processing the sensor signal comprises: generating a monitoring signal responsive to a parameter of the electromagnetic radiation selected from the group consisting of intensity, wavelength, amplitude, frequency, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       4. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: monitoring pressure and generating a pressure monitoring signal. 
     
     
       5. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 4 , further comprising the step of: generating a control signal corresponding to a desired adjustment of the damper responsive to the monitoring signal and the pressure monitoring signal. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 charging a furnace with raw material; and 
 operating the furnace to melt the raw material and make steel. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein sensing electromagnetic radiation emitted through one or more openings of a furnace comprises using one or more sensors. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more openings of the furnace comprise one or more openings of multiple furnaces. 
     
     
       9. A method of controlling a furnace damper, the method comprising:
 a) sensing electromagnetic radiation emitted through one or more openings of a furnace and generating digital images thereof; 
 b) processing the digital images and generating a monitoring signal responsive to a parameter of the digital images indicative of furnace emissions; and 
 c) controlling the damper responsive to the monitoring signal indicative of the furnace emissions. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 9  where the digital images are selected from the group consisting of monochrome images, multi-color images, and infrared images. 
     
     
       11. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 9 , the step of processing the digital images comprising: comparing the intensity of pixels of the digital images to a reference intensity. 
     
     
       12. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 11 , where the reference intensity is a predetermined value. 
     
     
       13. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 11 , where the reference intensity is an adjustable value. 
     
     
       14. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 11 , where the monitoring signal corresponds to a ratio of pixels of the digital images exceeding the reference intensity. 
     
     
       15. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 11 , where the parameter of the digital images is the number of pixels of the digital images having an intensity exceeding the reference intensity. 
     
     
       16. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 9 , the step of processing the digital images comprising: analyzing the color of pixels of the digital images. 
     
     
       17. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 9 , further comprising: generating the monitoring signal responsive to at least two parameters of pixels of the digital images. 
     
     
       18. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 9 , further comprising: segmenting the digital images into selected control zones, where each control zone is a portion of the digital images. 
     
     
       19. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 18 , where the control zones are predetermined portions of the digital images. 
     
     
       20. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 18 , further comprising the step of: determining by the processor the control zones of the digital images. 
     
     
       21. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 18 , further comprising the step of: separately processing pixels of the digital images in each control zone. 
     
     
       22. The of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 18 , further comprising: generating at least two monitoring signals corresponding to at least two control zones. 
     
     
       23. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 9 , the step of controlling the damper comprising: generating a control signal corresponding to a desired adjustment of the controllable damper responsive to the monitoring signal. 
     
     
       24. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 23 , further comprising: generating at least two control signals corresponding to desired adjustments of at least two dampers. 
     
     
       25. The method of controlling a furnace damper of  claim 9 , further comprising the step of: comparing the monitoring signal to a set-point. 
     
     
       26. The method of  claim 9 , wherein sensing electromagnetic radiation emitted through one or more openings of a furnace comprises using one or more sensors. 
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more openings of the furnace comprise one or more openings of multiple furnaces.